Home Office

Livestock: Theft

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent of farm animal theft.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office’s Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) asks businesses about their experience of crime in the last 12 months.Figures on crime experienced by business premises within the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector have been published in the latest ‘Crime against businesses’ publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2017-commercial-victimisation-survey-data-tables.This includes estimates of theft and specifically of livestock theft but not on the theft of farm equipment.

Agricultural Machinery: Theft

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent of farm equipment theft.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office’s Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) asks businesses about their experience of crime in the last 12 months.Figures on crime experienced by business premises within the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector have been published in the latest ‘Crime against businesses’ publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2017-commercial-victimisation-survey-data-tables.This includes estimates of theft and specifically of livestock theft but not on the theft of farm equipment.



Crime Against Businesses findings from 2017 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 123.5 KB)

Offences against Children: North of England

lord morris of aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will invite HM Inspector of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service to analyse and report on the timeliness of the investigations into and prosecutions for sexual offences concerning girls in Huddersfield and other northern towns and cities.

baroness williams of trafford: Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) is already inspecting the child protection work of every police in England and Wales through its National Child Protection Inspections. As part of these inspections HMICFRS will continue to inspect against forces’ awareness of and response to child sexual abuse and exploitation, including how well the service helps and protects vulnerable children and investigates these crimes.The investigations in Huddersfield are ongoing and are an operational matter for the local police. It is for the police and Crown Prosecution Service to investigate allegations and build cases for prosecution. These parts of the criminal justice system are independent of government and it is a vital principle that police carry out their duties free from political interference.It is for the locally elected Police and Crime Commissioner to decide how best to hold his force to account and commission a review if he considers it appropriate.In addition, in March 2015 the Home Office established the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to consider the extent to which institutions – including the police – have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The Inquiry has announced an investigation examining institutional responses to the sexual exploitation of children by organised networks.

Home Office: Staff

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals who have declared as (1) Muslims, and (2) members of other faiths and none, there were in the top four grades of the Home Office on (a) 1 September 2012, and (b) 31 September 2014.

baroness williams of trafford: The information is provided in the table belowReligionSeptember 2012September 2014Muslim**********Other Faiths64%70%No Religion**********Data Source: Data View - Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate Human Resources data for Home Office.Period Covered:01/10/2011 to 30/09/201201/10/2013 to 30/09/2014Organisational Coverage:Home OfficeEmployee Coverage: Data is based on Headcount of current paid permanent civil servants in SCS grade,Top 4 grades classed as SCS members (SCS PB1, PB2 (Directors), PB3 (Director Generals) and PB4 (Permanent Secretary))Note: Figures for protected characteristics of Religious Belief are representative of only those staff who have made a positive statement.Those who ‘Prefer not to say’ or are ‘Not Surveyed’ have been excluded.Statistical disclosure controls: these have been applied to this information to comply with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice and the Data Protection Act.Where a category has either (a) fewer than 5 employees or (b) no employees figures have been redacted and replaced with ***** (5 stars) to prevent the disclosure of small numbers. This enables transparency of as much information as possible without the need to redact the overall figures.

North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel

baroness harris of richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the findings of the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel into the behaviour of the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, whether they intend to review that Panel's powerto hold the Police and Crime Commissioner to account.

baroness williams of trafford: Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have an important role in holding their forces to account and focusing on cutting crime and it is right they are held to the very highest standards.PCCs operate in the full gaze of the media and must justify their record to the public every four years, via the ballot box.Police and Crime Panels have the appropriate powers to effectively scrutinise the actions and decisions of Police and Crime Commissioners and enable the public to make an informed decision when voting.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Palace of Westminster: Fire Prevention

lord blencathra: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what consideration was given to the needs of disabled users of the Palace when the decision was taken to install temporary fire doors in certain areas of the Palace of Westminster; and how long he anticipates those doors being in place.

lord laming: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chairman of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The temporary fire doors needed to be installed to ensure mitigation to Fire Life Safety non-compliance. The floor springs and hinges of the original doors had deteriorated to the extent that it was not possible to ensure compliance. Work had to be undertaken requiring their removal and replacement with temporary fire doors.Consideration was given to disabled users; the temporary doors are in excess of current part M Building Regulations, requiring minimum 800mm width doors, as 830mm wide doors have been installed which fully comply with both Part M (access) and Part B (fire) requirements. The original doors will be returned from mid-November to the end of November.

Palace of Westminster: Fire Prevention

lord blencathra: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what consideration has been given to replacing the recently installed single-leaf temporary fire doors in the Palace of Westminster with double-leaf doors that (1) swing both ways, and (2) have larger glass panels.

lord laming: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chairman of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The existing doors’ apertures are not large enough to accommodate temporary frames and temporary double leaf fire doors. The cost of providing temporary double leaf doors is considerably more expensive than single doors and the lead time for double leaf doors would delay the programme; the cost and delay would increase further for doors with double swing frames. The installed temporary glass panels are compatible with certified British Standards and Building Regulations standards for disabled access/visibility in that they allow wheelchair to wheelchair visibility through the glass.No consideration has been given to replace the temporary doors given the deadline to achieve life safety compliance, compliance with British Standards and Building Regulations, and the additional cost of replacement. The original doors will be returned between mid-November and the end of November.

Palace of Westminster: Fire Prevention

lord blencathra: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what consideration has been given to replacing the recently installed temporary fire doors in the Palace of Westminster with models more in keeping with the aesthetic of the Palace.

lord laming: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chairman of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. To fabricate temporary doors more in keeping with the original doors would be extremely costly and would delay the programme well beyond the compliance deadline date.  Such a door would require the alteration of the original frame which would not be permitted under current listed building permissions.No consideration has been given to replace the temporary doors given the deadline to achieve life safety compliance, compliance with British Standards and Building Regulations, and the additional cost of replacement. The original doors will be returned between mid-November and the end of November.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Families

baroness eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Ministry of Justice policies have been assessed against the Family Test; and whether they have published the outcome of any such assessments.

lord keen of elie: The Government is committed to supporting families. To achieve this, in 2014 we introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Ministers. The Ministry of Justice does not collect information on the number of Family Test assessments completed. There is no requirement for departments to publish the results of assessments made under the Family Test.

Women and Equalities

Government Equalities Office: Families

baroness eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Government Equalities Office policies have been assessed against the Family Test; and whether they have published the outcome of any such assessments.

baroness williams of trafford: The government is committed to supporting families. To achieve this, in 2014 we introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Ministers. There is no requirement for departments to publish the results of assessments made under the Family Test.